4 Baltimore Ravens players on the rise, 4 struggling through two games

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver John Brown (13) celebrates his touchdown with tight end Mark Andrews (89) in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

By Aaron Kasinitz | akasinitz@pennlive.com

Two games into a pivotal season, the Baltimore Ravens have already endured the types of triumphs and struggles that can send fans’ emotions soaring or plummeting.

Baltimore opened the season by shellacking the Bills, 47-3, with a stellar effort in all three phases of the game. But an injury to Pro Bowl inside linebacker C.J. Mosley on Thursday played a part in a 34-23 loss to the Bengals, and even aside from the health concerns, the Ravens’ performance in Cincinnati ignited scrutiny.

Individual players haven’t been immune to peaks and valleys, either. Several Ravens have mixed jaw-dropping highlights with head-scratching miscues through two weeks of the 2018 campaign.

And here, we’re breaking some of that down with an early-season stock watch. We’ve picked out four players on the rise and four who’ve struggled so far. Take a look:

Though he dropped one would-be touchdown Thursday, Brown also provided the Ravens more offensive explosiveness than any receiver has since the start of the 2017 season. He racked up four catches for 92 yards against the Bengals and hauled in a highlight reel grab in the right side of the end zone in the fourth quarter. He set up another Ravens’ touchdown by drawing a pass interference penalty at the goal line. And performance after he pulled down three catches for 44 yards and a score against the Bills. Brown looks like every beat of the game-changing playmaker Baltimore hoped he would be when they signed him this offseason.